Quilting & Making History

Greetings once again from Zambia! The rains have come again and people are rejoicing and preparing the fields for another year's crop. The dry season has ended and there is hope in the fields and the rain God provides.

At the end of September, we had a very special team arrive. It was made up of parents: my mother, and the parents of another missionary. They came not only to see where their children live and work, but also to help out. Donated sewing supplies were brought to have a quilting class. Representatives of the women's groups from two churches in the bush gathered for five days of quilting; some had experience, others did not. These ladies were taught how to quilt so they could teach the rest of the women at their church.


The ladies were eager to learn. We had a great time quilting; singing and talking as we worked. Each church started a quilt and took them home at the end of each day to work on them. They quickly finished them and asked to make another one. At the end of the five days, the ladies had completed two tied, patch-work quilts; both a single and a double for each church. When they completed their second quilts, the ladies broke out in song and waved the quilts around in celebration of what they had done. Before parting ways, we all shared a meal of nsima (boiled corn meal), chicken, and rape (leafy green) and the ladies presented gifts of peanuts in appreciation for what they had done.

The following Sunday, the ladies showed the church the quilts they had made and announced they were for sale. They also invited all the ladies to join them on Saturday to continue sewing. This is a great chance to get ladies outside the church involved in something, teach valuable skills, and also is a way for income to help people and provide resources for women's events.

As time goes on, I am learning more and more how the little things make a big difference. It has been a month already and people still haven't stopped talking about Jimmy and Prisca's wedding. Why? I later learned that never before, in the history of Zimba, has a white person been in the line-up of a Zambian wedding. And in this wedding there were two!

Prisca and I have done the 5km walk to church for choir practice twice a week since January. We have shared many experiences and she has helped me with the language and culture as well. As her and Jimmy's parents started negotiations and plans for their wedding, she asked if I would be a bride's maid. I accepted and two weeks before the wedding the practices began.
Understand that this is no simple one-foot-in-front-of-the-other march up the isle. African wedding parties dance in and out of the church; for everything they do, such as taking the cake out to be cut and served. We learned four different dance steps. We lined the isle and danced while the bride and groom passed through. It was great to be a part of the celebration of my friend's wedding, to see a Zambian wedding, and also to see how it has opened up people towards us as they see the missionaries getting involved in different aspects of their lives. The invitation was an honour and I am thankful for it!



I thank God for the opportunities He has given me to be involved in the lives of the Tonga people. Please pray for the relationships between Zambians and missionaries; as we live and work together and learn from each other. Cultural and language differences, etc. often lead to misunderstandings on either part as well as there is a constant threat of satanists, who wish to disrupt the unity and work we have together.

I thank God that my mother was able to come and see Zambia and for the practical skills that teams, like this one, share with people. These help people find ways to help themselves and give them a start in that direction. When we help with that need, they are more open to their spiritual need as well.

Thank you very much for your prayers and support!!